Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-06-20
WASHINGTON.
A Few Facts About the Government of
the District of Communicative
Extremes to Be Met With.
Correspondents Who Accompanied the
President 10 the Mountains Tell
Stories About the Flies.
Foreign Nations Watching With Interest
the Action of Secretary Bayard Rel
ative ! Onnage Dues
OUR DISTRICT GOVERNMENT.


Special to the Gazette
WASHINGTON, June Ig.-Some of. the
actions of the commission which is sp-
pointed by law to govern the affairs of
the people OF the District Of Columbia.
are beyond all finding out. There is no
other government like that which exists
here, and although it is in many respects
the best in tae world, it is in others
simply IS bad IS it can be. The commits
sioners, ia nosing around among the
musty old law books, discovered q blue
law some time ago which prevented the
sale of bread, and Ice cream, and cigars
and soda water on Sunday They tried
TO enforce it and the courts ruleG the. law
void. Now they are going still further
back, and propose 10 enforce an old
worm eaten and forgotten statute which
gives them the right TO close eYer7 place
OF business and to stop every man from
working on the Sabbath day While two
of the commissioners were engaged in
brushing the dust off this old forgotten
law, the other was nosing round to see
what ne could discover, and ne found that
in certain sections of the city the resi-
dents were not credited with having paid
Waterman taxes. He 81 once made OUT
bills, and the result of 1t is that duriBg
the past week one concern which was
conducting its business III the bliss
iul belief that 1T was square with
the world is confronted with a tax for
water mains Ut zhe rate Of II cents per
square foot on evcry inch of property
owned by them, TIE total amount Of the
alleged Indebtedness is something like
S40,0 In oEc Of the suburbs known
as LcdToit park the residents we're
frightened out Of their boots day OF
tive ago or receiving uOtiti ,auOu Of
alleged Indebtedness 70 the District al
the SAM rate IS thst mentioned above
and for the same purpose, One gentle
man, Who has very nice place, is coa'i7
informed inst ne must cIy $3.50 - once
II ne would avoid legal proceedings. The
Joke Of all this il, that these residents Of
LedrCit park laid their own wafer mains
and made their OWL connections ten or
fifteen years ago, and the one man, who is
The heaviest taxed, laid main entirely
around his property. OF course these
taxes cannot be enforced, but it does
seem SIS though the people who reside in
Washington ought to be relieved from the
annoyance ana scare oCcasiOned by such
exceedingly Dad bookkeeping as this
ms lance shows
TOO MANY FLIES.
Special 20 the Gazette.
WASHINGTON, June lg.-The CORE
zpondents who accompanied the Presi-
dent tO.the mountains nave all returned
Every one Of them is hy-bloWn to an
extent, while Colonel Lamont
looks as though he had been shot full Of
salt VIII trying to rob en- orchard. The
Boys tell amusing stories of the efforts of
.he hote. proprietor TO induce them to
'efrain from speaking of the black flies.
8oniface says that if the President will
persist in visiting the mountains before
he flies leave, usually about July |, he
viii be compelled to quit business.
A DEMAND FOR FREE SHIPPING.
special to the Gazette
WASHINGTON, June Ig.-The state
department. has not yet decided the ques-
ion raised by the Swedish government
elative to the tonnage dues which shall
re levied upon vessels from that country
IN entering the ports IF the United
states. The S Weedish government claims
hat under the. construction of the exist
ng treaty between the two nations
made by Henry Clay, when ne
vas secretary of state, its vessels
re entitled To admission to American
'orts at the same rate of charges as is
imposed upon Canadian, Mexican and
central American vessels under the
erms of the Diugley bill of 1886 Score
ary Bayard at first took ~ opposite
lew; but the agent of the Swedish
essel owners called bis attention to the
osition assumed on the same subject by
lr. Clay and the department decided 10
BOX into the subject further. The other
maritime nations of Europe are anxiously
waiting the second ruling Of the depart
lent on this question aud it is quite
kelly that tae outcome may be serious
arrangement Ut the port charges upon
reign shipping. The President has
ready issued proclamation sbolishiug
l such charges against the ships of the
i. having been SHOWN
MIN that Ehat country no
niger compels vessels from any
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